Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 21, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 12955 

Subpart I, Section 40103. Under that 

section, the FAA is charged with 

prescribing regulations to assign the use 

of the airspace necessary to ensure the 

safety of aircraft and the efficient use of 

airspace. This regulation is within the 

scope of that authority as it modifies the 

Air Traffic Service (ATS) route structure 

as necessary to preserve the safe and 

efficient flow of air traffic within the 

National Airspace System. 

History 

The FAA published a NPRM for 

Docket No. FAA 2023–1464 in the 

Federal Register (88 FR 43258; July 7, 

2023), proposing to revoke G–4 in the 

vicinity of Dillingham, AK. Interested 

parties were invited to participate in 

this rulemaking effort by submitting 

written comments on the proposal to the 

FAA. One comment was received. No 

response was provided as the comment 

was outside of the scope of the proposal. 

Incorporation by Reference 

Colored Federal airways are 

published in paragraph 6009 of FAA 

Order JO 7400.11, Airspace 

Designations and Reporting Points, 

which is incorporated by reference in 14 

CFR 71.1 on an annual basis. This 

document amends the current version of 

that order, FAA Order JO 7400.11H, 

dated August 11, 2023, and effective 

September 15, 2023. FAA Order JO 

7400.11H is publicly available as listed 

in the ADDRESSES section of this 

document. These amendments will be 

published in the next update to FAA 

Order JO 7400.11. 

FAA Order JO 7400.11H lists Class A, 

B, C, D, and E airspace areas, air traffic 

service routes, and reporting points. 

The Rule 

This action amends 14 CFR part 71 by 

revoking Colored Federal Airway G–4 in 

its entirety, in the vicinity of 

Dillingham, AK. 

Regulatory Notices and Analyses 

The FAA has determined that this 

regulation only involves an established 

body of technical regulations for which 

frequent and routine amendments are 

necessary to keep them operationally 

current. It, therefore: (1) is not a 

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under 

Executive Order 12866; (2) is not a 

‘‘significant rule’’ under DOT 

Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 

FR 11034; February 26, 1979); and (3) 

does not warrant preparation of a 

regulatory evaluation as the anticipated 

impact is so minimal. Since this is a 

routine matter that only affects air traffic 

procedures and air navigation, it is 

certified that this rule, when 

promulgated, does not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities under the 

criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. 

Environmental Review 

The FAA has determined that this 

airspace action of revoking Colored 

Federal Airway G–4 in the vicinity of 

Dillingham, AK qualifies for categorical 

exclusion under the National 

Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq.) and its implementing 

regulations at 40 CFR part 1500, and in 

accordance with FAA Order 1050.1F, 

Environmental Impacts: Policies and 

Procedures, paragraph 5–6.5a, which 

categorically excludes from further 

environmental impact review 

rulemaking actions that designate or 

modify classes of airspace areas, 

airways, routes, and reporting points 

(see 14 CFR part 71, Designation of 

Class A, B, C, D, and E Airspace Areas; 

Air Traffic Service Routes; and 

Reporting Points), and paragraph 5– 

6.5k, which categorically excludes from 

further environmental review the 

publication of existing air traffic control 

procedures that do not essentially 

change existing tracks, create new 

tracks, change altitude, or change 

concentration of aircraft on these tracks. 

As such, this action is not expected to 

result in any potentially significant 

environmental impacts. In accordance 

with FAA Order 1050.1F, paragraph 5– 

2 regarding Extraordinary 

Circumstances, the FAA has reviewed 

this action for factors and circumstances 

in which a normally categorically 

excluded action may have a significant 

environmental impact requiring further 

analysis. Accordingly, the FAA has 

determined that no extraordinary 

circumstances exist that warrant 

preparation of an environmental 

assessment or environmental impact 

study. 

List of Subjects in 14 CFR Part 71 

Airspace, Incorporation by reference, 

Navigation (air). 

The Amendment 

In consideration of the foregoing, the 

Federal Aviation Administration 

amends 14 CFR part 71 as follows: 

PART 71—DESIGNATION OF CLASS A, 

B, C, D, AND E AIRSPACE AREAS; AIR 

TRAFFIC SERVICE ROUTES; AND 

REPORTING POINTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for 14 CFR 

part 71 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g); 40103, 

40113, 40120; E.O. 10854, 24 FR 9565, 3 CFR, 

1959–1963 Comp., p. 389. 

§ 71.1 [Amended] 

■ 2. The incorporation by reference in 

14 CFR 71.1 of FAA Order JO 7400.11H, 

Airspace Designations and Reporting 

Points, dated August 11, 2023, and 

effective September 15, 2023, is 

amended as follows: 

Paragraph 6009(a) Green Federal Airways. 

* * * * * 

G–4 [Removed] 

* * * * * 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 14, 

2024. 

Brian Eric Konie, 

Acting Manager, Rules and Regulations 

Group. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03480 Filed 2–20–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Fiscal Service 

31 CFR Part 208 

[FISCAL–2022–0003] 

RIN 1530–AA27 

Management of Federal Agency 

Disbursements 

AGENCY: Bureau of the Fiscal Service, 

Treasury. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: On January 10, 2023, the 

Department of the Treasury’s (Treasury) 

Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal 

Service) issued a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) to amend Fiscal 

Service’s Management of Federal 

Agency Disbursements rule, which 

implements a statutory mandate 

requiring the Federal Government to 

deliver non-tax payments by electronic 

funds transfer (EFT) unless Treasury 

determines that a waiver of the 

requirement is appropriate. Fiscal 

Service is now issuing this final rule 

(Final Rule) to adopt the amendments as 

proposed, with one minor change. 

Among other things, the Final Rule 

strengthens the EFT requirement by 

narrowing the scope of existing waivers 

from the EFT mandate or requiring 

agencies to obtain Fiscal Service’s 

approval to invoke certain existing part 

208 waivers. The use of electronic 

payments has expanded significantly 

since the waivers from the EFT mandate 

were first published in 1998, and the 

Final Rule appropriately updates part 

208’s waiver provisions, given the broad 

availability of safe and secure electronic 

payment options currently available. In 

doing so, the Final Rule leverages 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
12956 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 21, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

Treasury’s growing profile of electronic 

payment options, which are faster, less 

expensive, and safer than paper checks. 

The strengthening of the EFT 

requirement with these changes is also 

consistent with Treasury’s commitment 

to reducing check payments. 

DATES: This rule is effective March 22, 

2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Matthew Helfrich, Management and 

Program Analyst, at (215) 806–9616 or 

Matthew.Helfrich@fiscal.treasury.gov, or 

Rebecca Saltiel, Senior Counsel, at (202) 

874–6648 or Rebecca.Saltiel@

fiscal.treasury.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

In 1998, Fiscal Service issued a final 

rule, codified at 31 CFR part 208 (part 

208), to implement the requirements of 

31 U.S.C. 3332, as amended by section 

31001(x)(1) of the Debt Collection 

Improvement Act of 1996, Public Law 

104–134, 110 Stat. 1321–376. Section 

3332 generally mandates that all Federal 

payments that the government makes, 

other than tax payments, be delivered 

by EFT unless waived by the Secretary 

of the Treasury. Specifically, subsection 

(f)(2)(A) of section 3332 provides that 

‘‘[t]he Secretary of the Treasury may 

waive application of [the EFT mandate] 

to payments—(i) for individuals or 

classes of individuals for whom 

compliance poses a hardship; (ii) for 

classifications or types of checks; or (iii) 

in other circumstances as may be 

necessary.’’ Subsection (f)(2)(B) states 

that ‘‘[t]he Secretary of the Treasury 

shall make determinations under 

subparagraph (A) based on standards 

developed by the Secretary.’’ Section 

3332 also authorizes the Secretary of the 

Treasury to ‘‘prescribe regulations that 

the Secretary considers necessary to 

carry out this section.’’ 31 U.S.C. 

3332(i)(1). The waivers authorized by 

section 3332 are located exclusively in 

part 208. Pursuant to statutory authority 

in 31 U.S.C. 3335, part 208 also 

provides that Treasury may assess a 

charge to an agency that fails to make 

a payment by EFT as prescribed by part 

208. 

The part 208 waivers have remained 

largely unchanged since the late 1990s, 

even as Treasury’s percentage of 

payments made electronically has 

significantly increased. In 2007, 78% of 

the government’s payments that 

Treasury disbursed were made 

electronically. By fiscal year 2023, that 

figure had risen to 96%. Of the over 1 

billion payments that Treasury 

disburses each year on behalf of Federal 

agencies, all but a small fraction are 

paid electronically. 

The part 208 waivers have also 

remained largely unchanged despite 

Treasury expanding its electronic 

payment offerings. The additional 

offerings include same-day Automated 

Clearing House (ACH) payments, 

Treasury-sponsored prepaid debit cards, 

and the Treasury-sponsored Digital Pay 

program. Treasury also operates 

electronic payment support and 

education programs and platforms such 

as GoDirect.gov and the Direct Express 

Financial Education Center. None of 

these offerings existed when Treasury 

published its initial final rule on part 

208 in 1998. 

The use of Treasury-sponsored debit 

cards illustrates how much has changed 

since the waivers were first published. 

Over 3.8 million Federal benefit payees 

receive their payments on Direct 

Express debit cards, which are linked to 

accounts sponsored by Treasury. 

Similarly, over 16.5 million Economic 

Impact Payment (EIP) payees received 

payments in 2020 and 2021 on EIP 

Cards, which are debit cards linked to 

Treasury-sponsored accounts. The 

Direct Express program helps ensure 

that recipients of Federal benefits 

receive payments electronically even if 

they do not otherwise have bank 

accounts. The use of EIP Cards helped 

Treasury meet its responsibility to issue 

EIPs as quickly as possible. But for the 

issuance of debit cards, most of these 

payments would have been by paper 

check. 

It is Treasury’s goal to create a 

modern, seamless, and cost-effective 

Federal payment experience for the 

public. Expanding the use of electronic 

payments and reducing the number of 

paper checks are essential to this goal. 

Electronic payments are much faster, 

more timely, and significantly less 

expensive than paper checks. Electronic 

payments are safer than paper checks as 

well, with direct deposits being 16 times 

less likely to have post-payment issues 

(such as claims of missing or 

misdelivered payments) than paper 

checks. Electronic payments avoid the 

disproportionate burden checks can 

place on some payment recipients—who 

may have to resort to expensive checkcashing services—as well as the 

negative impact that check production 

and delivery may have on the 

environment. 

There remains room for improvement 

in increasing the percentage of 

payments made electronically and 

reducing the number of paper checks 

produced and mailed every year. 

Treasury works closely with Federal 

agencies that make payments and has 

encountered numerous examples of 

payments that are made by paper check 

that could be made electronically. These 

often include Federal intragovernmental 

payments and vendor payments, many 

of which take place on a recurring basis. 

Increasing the electronic payment rate 

for Treasury-disbursed payments is part 

of an Agency Priority Goal for Treasury, 

and Fiscal Service has set a federal 

financial management goal to deliver 

99% of eligible Treasury-disbursed 

payments electronically by 2030. 

Treasury believes that it is time to 

narrow the existing waivers. A 

narrowing of the waivers is expected to 

increase the percentage of payments 

made electronically and reduce the 

number of paper checks sent out each 

year. This narrowing is possible and 

appropriate because of the changes over 

the last 25 years. 

II. Public Comments and Fiscal Service 

Responses 

Fiscal Service received three 

substantive comment letters in response 

to the NPRM. Two comments were from 

Federal agencies and one was from 

Nacha, the ACH network’s governing 

body. The comments sought 

clarification regarding the application of 

certain waivers and the new agency 

waiver request process, addressed the 

charges that Fiscal Service may assess 

under § 208.9, discussed the rule’s 

potential effects on agency-led research 

activities that involve payments to 

research participants, and expressed 

general support for the NPRM. 

Comments Regarding the Application of 

Certain Waivers and the New Agency 

Waiver Request Process 

One agency commenter requested 

clarification regarding a portion of the 

preamble to the NPRM that addressed 

the amendment to § 208.4(a)(1)(ii), 

which provides a waiver from the EFT 

requirement for individuals who receive 

a type of payment for which Treasury 

does not offer delivery to a Treasurysponsored account. The Final Rule 

specifies that if Treasury provides an 

agency with an option to begin 

delivering a type of payment to a 

Treasury-sponsored account, the agency 

must file a waiver request with Treasury 

to make payments of that type by any 

means other than by EFT. In response to 

the commenter’s request for 

clarification, we note that if Treasury 

provides an agency an option to begin 

delivering certain payments to a 

Treasury-sponsored account and the 

agency submits a waiver request to 

continue to make payments other than 

by EFT, the agency may continue to 

issue check payments during the 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 21, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 12957 

pendency of the waiver request. The 

commenter also asked whether 

individuals who are homeless would be 

eligible for a class waiver, noting the 

potential difficulty of enrolling such 

individuals in direct deposit or in Direct 

Express. Fiscal Service would consider 

an agency’s waiver request under 

§ 208.4(a)(1)(ii) for a group of 

individuals, including individuals who 

are homeless. 

With regard to the waiver under 

newly redesignated § 208.4(a)(7), which 

may be available when an agency does 

not expect to make multiple payments 

to the same individual or small business 

concern within a one-year period on a 

regular, recurring basis, an agency 

commenter asked if waivers could be 

applied to a class of individuals, such 

as in cases where an agency holds the 

personal funds of patients during 

hospital stays and then returns the 

funds upon patient discharge. The 

commenter asked if the § 208.4(a)(7) 

waiver could apply in such cases given 

that the agency would not know if a 

patient may be readmitted during the 

same year. Fiscal Service believes the 

waiver under § 208.4(a)(7) could be 

relied upon to return the personal funds 

of patients by means other than EFT and 

that the agency could apply the waiver 

to a class of discharged patients rather 

than on a case-by-case basis. Fiscal 

Service, however, would discourage the 

agency’s use of the waiver for all 

discharged patients before first 

considering whether EFT, including via 

the U.S. Debit Card, would be an 

appropriate and convenient method of 

returning discharged patients’ funds in 

certain circumstances. For example, the 

waiver could be limited to payments to 

patients who have been offered return of 

their funds by direct deposit or U.S. 

Debit Card and who have declined that 

option. 

One agency commenter also 

commented on the new agency waiver 

request requirement. As the commenter 

noted, the NPRM stated that Fiscal 

Service would provide detailed 

information about how to file a waiver 

request in the Treasury Financial 

Manual. The commenter stated that it 

would be helpful to have more 

information regarding the agency waiver 

request process. As of the date of this 

Final Rule, Fiscal Service has updated 

the relevant Treasury Financial Manual 

chapter, which is available at https://

tfm.fiscal.treasury.gov/v1/p4/ac200/. 

Subsection 2040.30c of the chapter, 

which may be amended from time to 

time, outlines the agency waiver request 

process and will be effective March 22, 

2024. 

Comment Relating to Fiscal Service’s 

Assessment of Charges Under § 208.9 

One agency commenter requested 

more detail regarding how charges 

would be assessed under § 208.9, how 

frequently agencies will be billed, and 

whether agencies would have any 

appeal rights. The provision of the Final 

Rule stating that Treasury may assess a 

charge to an agency pursuant to 31 

U.S.C. 3335 if the agency fails to make 

final payment by EFT as prescribed 

under part 208 has been in effect since 

1999. The proposed rule only clarified 

that if an agency fails to make payment 

by EFT as prescribed under part 208, 

Treasury will consider that payment to 

be not timely pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 

3335, as EFT payments are processed, 

disbursed, and settled more quickly 

than paper checks. 

The commenter is correct that the 

proposed rule did not address how 

Treasury would assess charges to 

agencies that fail to make payment by 

EFT pursuant to § 208.9. Fiscal Service 

is evaluating the appropriate method to 

assess charges to agencies in accordance 

with the Secretary’s authority under 31 

U.S.C. 3335, which permits the 

Secretary to charge an agency the cost 

to the General Fund of the Treasury 

caused by the agency’s non-compliance 

with the requirement to provide for the 

timely disbursement of Federal funds. 

Until such time as the method of 

assessing non-compliance charges is 

established and published in the 

Treasury Financial Manual, Volume I, 

Part 4A, Chapter 2000, Fiscal Service 

will not charge agencies under § 208.9. 

Moreover, Fiscal Service anticipates that 

once the method of assessing noncompliance charges is established and 

published in the Treasury Financial 

Manual, § 208.9 would be relied upon to 

charge an agency only in unresolved 

cases after Fiscal Service and the agency 

have exhausted reasonable options to 

resolve the non-compliance issue. 

Comments Relating to Agency Research 

Activities 

One agency commenter expressed 

concerns regarding the EFT 

requirement’s impact on agency 

research activities because research 

teams would need to submit an 

Institutional Review Board modification 

to already-approved studies to collect 

bank account information from 

participants. The commenter also 

observed that any requirement to collect 

bank account information from research 

participants would be detrimental to the 

agency’s recruitment of research 

subjects, as it would limit the agency’s 

recruitment to individuals who are 

willing to provide bank account 

information. The commenter further 

suggested that the agency could not 

utilize the waiver under § 208.4(a)(7) for 

non-regular, non-recurring payments 

given that the agency might not know 

whether any given research participant 

would be paid more than once a year. 

The EFT requirement is a 

longstanding requirement, not a new 

requirement under the Final Rule. 

Additionally, the agency would be able 

to comply with the EFT requirement 

without collecting bank information 

from research participants by issuing 

pre-paid debit cards through Fiscal 

Service’s U.S. Debit Card program or 

virtual payments through Fiscal 

Service’s Digital Pay program. 

With respect to the commenter’s 

concern that the payment waiver under 

§ 208.4(a)(7) for non-regular and nonrecurring payments would not be 

available to the agency to make non-EFT 

payments to the research participants, 

we note that to use the waiver, the rule 

requires that the agency not ‘‘expect’’ to 

make payments to the same recipient on 

a ‘‘regular, recurring basis’’ within a 

one-year period—not that the agency 

does not ultimately make more than one 

payment to the same recipient within a 

one-year period. (We note that although 

the preamble to the NPRM referred to 

the waiver under § 208.4(a)(7) as the 

‘‘one-time, non-recurring payment 

waiver,’’ it could be more precisely 

referred to as the ‘‘non-regular, nonrecurring payment waiver.’’) 

Accordingly, an agency may use the 

waiver under § 208.4(a)(7) to pay 

research participants by means other 

than EFT when the agency does not 

expect to make payments to the research 

participants on a regular, recurring 

basis, notwithstanding the possibility 

that those research participants may be 

paid for participating in other agency 

research projects in the same year. 

While an agency in this type of 

circumstance could use the waiver 

under § 208.4(a)(7), we would also 

encourage such an agency to consider 

using the U.S. Debit Card program to 

issue pre-paid debit cards or the Digital 

Pay program to issue virtual payments, 

which, as noted above, would not 

require the agency to collect personal 

bank account information. 

Comments Expressing General Support 

for the Proposed Rule 

Nacha’s comment letter expressed 

support for the NPRM, noting that 

electronic payments will continue to 

reduce costs and improve efficiency 

across the federal government. Nacha 

further encouraged Fiscal Service to: (1) 

provide for the sharing of payment 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
12958 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 21, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

enrollment information across agencies 

to the extent possible, and to seek 

Congressional authorization to do so if 

necessary; (2) utilize customer-facing 

enrollment portals, similar to the IRS’s 

portal for providing banking 

information for EIPs; and (3) use 

industry-available account validation 

tools and services to promote greater 

accuracy of payment information. We 

appreciate Nacha’s support of the 

NPRM. We note that currently federal 

benefit recipients may enroll in direct 

deposit on GoDirect.gov and that Fiscal 

Service continues to explore options for 

improving the EFT enrollment process. 

Fiscal Service also currently leverages 

commercially available data sources to 

confirm the existence, status, and 

ownership of bank accounts. Use of 

these data sources has increased the 

government’s payment accuracy while 

reducing instances of reported fraud and 

erroneous payments. Fiscal Service is 

continually evaluating ways to increase 

electronic payments while reducing 

improper and misdirected EFT. 

III. Summary of Final Rule 

The Final Rule amends part 208 to 

require agencies seeking to use certain 

waivers to file a request with Treasury. 

Under the Final Rule, agencies must 

submit a request to Fiscal Service to use 

an EFT waiver in the following 

circumstances: 

• If Treasury provides a federal entity 

with an option to begin delivering a 

Federal payment to a Treasurysponsored account and the federal 

entity still seeks to make the payment 

by check (see § 208.4(a)(1)(ii)); 

• To extend any waiver for payment 

to a recipient within an area designated 

by the President or an authorized 

federal entity administrator as a disaster 

area past the 120-day period following 

when the disaster is declared (see 

§ 208.4(a)(4); 

• Where a federal entity’s need for 

goods and services is of such an unusual 

and compelling urgency that the 

government would be seriously injured 

unless payment is made by a method 

other than EFT (see § 208.4(a)(8)); or 

• Where there is only one source of 

goods or services and the government 

would be seriously injured unless 

payment is made by a method other 

than EFT (see § 208.4(a)(8)). 

The Final Rule also narrows the scope 

of an existing waiver under newly redesignated § 208.4(a)(7) that permits an 

agency to make payment by check if the 

agency does not expect to make 

payments to the same recipient within 

a one-year period on a regular, recurring 

basis, by limiting the waiver to 

payments to individuals and small 

businesses. Fiscal Service is also 

amending § 208.4(a) by adding one new 

waiver for payments in a foreign 

currency if Treasury does not support 

electronic payment in that foreign 

currency. 

The Final Rule also adds a new 

paragraph (c) to § 208.4 that gives 

Treasury the ability to nullify an agency 

waiver if Treasury makes the 

determination that the application of the 

waiver would lead to an agency 

initiating an unusually large number or 

proportion of payments by means other 

than EFT. 

Fiscal Service is also revising § 208.7 

to require agencies to provide, upon 

Treasury’s, request certain employee 

identification number data associated 

with agency payments to enable 

Treasury to identify Federal 

intragovernmental check payments that 

should be converted to EFT. 

In addition, the Final Rule amends 

§ 208.9(b) to clarify that when an agency 

fails to make a payment by EFT as 

prescribed by part 208, Treasury will 

consider that payment to not be a timely 

payment under 31 U.S.C. 3335, as EFT 

payments are processed, disbursed, and 

settled more quickly than paper checks. 

The Final Rule retains the existing 

language in § 208.9(b) authorizing 

Treasury to assess a charge to an agency 

that fails to make a payment by EFT as 

prescribed under this part. As noted 

above, Fiscal Service is still evaluating 

the appropriate method to assess 

charges to agencies in accordance with 

the Secretary’s authority under 31 

U.S.C. 3335. Until such time as the 

method of assessing non-compliance 

charges is established and published in 

the Treasury Financial Manual, Volume 

I, Part 4A, Chapter 2000, Fiscal Service 

will not charge agencies under § 208.9. 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis 

Sections 208.1 Through 208.3 

We are not amending these sections. 

Section 208.4 

We are amending § 208.4 in several 

ways. 

We are amending the waiver under 

paragraph (a)(1)(ii) that is available 

where an individual receives a type of 

payment for which Treasury does not 

offer delivery to a Treasury-sponsored 

account to specify that if Treasury 

provides an agency with an option to 

begin delivering a type of payment to a 

Treasury-sponsored account, the agency 

must file a waiver request with Treasury 

to make payments of that type other 

than by EFT. Filing the waiver request 

is sufficient to utilize the waiver 

pending Treasury’s decision on the 

request, but if Treasury ultimately 

rejects the request, the waiver will not 

be available for payments made after the 

decision date. 

We are adding a new waiver to § 208.4 

at a new paragraph (a)(3). This waiver 

provides that payment by EFT is not 

required when the payment is to be 

made in a foreign currency and Treasury 

does not support electronic payment in 

that foreign currency. Treasury 

currently supports electronic payments 

in 145 foreign currencies to over 200 

countries and territories, but we 

acknowledge that Treasury payment 

systems do not support electronic 

payment in every foreign currency. The 

new waiver would apply in these 

limited circumstances. 

We are amending the existing waiver 

under paragraph (a)(3) (renumbered 

under the Final Rule as paragraph 

(a)(4)), which waives the EFT 

requirement for payments to recipients 

in a designated disaster area within 120 

days after the disaster is declared. The 

amendment allows an agency to extend 

this waiver beyond 120 days after the 

disaster is declared, provided that the 

agency files a waiver request with 

Treasury. Filing is sufficient to extend 

the waiver pending Treasury’s decision 

on the request, but if Treasury 

ultimately rejects the request the waiver 

will not be available for payments made 

after the decision date. We are making 

this change in response to feedback 

from an agency regarding its disaster 

relief payments and the potential need 

to extend the waiver beyond the initial 

120-day timeframe. However, agencies 

contemplating using this waiver should 

be mindful that the U.S. Debit Card is 

an electronic payment option that 

Treasury can make available to 

recipients in designated disaster areas, 

negating the need for an EFT waiver and 

paper checks in many instances. 

We are amending the existing waiver 

at paragraph (a)(6) (renumbered as 

paragraph (a)(7) under the Final Rule), 

which applies when an agency does not 

expect to make payments to the same 

recipient within a one-year period on a 

regular, recurring basis, and remittance 

data explaining the purpose of the 

payment is not readily available from 

the recipient’s financial institution 

receiving the payment by EFT. We have 

eliminated the language concerning the 

remittance data explaining the purpose 

of the payment. This language is archaic 

and no longer necessary or pertinent. 

Treasury disburses Federal payments to 

recipients’ financial institution accounts 

with information that the financial 

institutions make available to recipients, 

allowing recipients to determine the 

purpose of the payments. This 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 21, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 12959 

information often exceeds the 

information available on a Treasury 

check. 

We are also amending the existing 

waiver under paragraph (a)(6) 

(renumbered as paragraph (a)(7) under 

the Final Rule) to narrow its scope so 

that it applies only when an agency 

does not expect to make payments to the 

same recipient within a one-year period 

on a regular, recurring basis and that 

recipient is an individual or a small 

business concern. For the purpose of 

this waiver, the NPRM proposed to 

adopt the meaning given to the term 

‘‘small business concern’’ in section 3 of 

the Small Business Act at (15 U.S.C. 

632). A broad waiver that would apply 

when an agency does not expect to 

make payments to the same recipient 

within a one-year period on a regular, 

recurring basis, regardless of the 

identity of the recipient, is no longer 

necessary, given the variety of electronic 

payment options available to agencies 

and payment recipients, including 

vendors. Nevertheless, we are retaining 

this waiver for agency payments to 

small business concerns to aid Federal 

agencies in their efforts to reach the 

broadest and most inclusive and diverse 

audience for Federal agency contracting 

opportunities. We also are retaining this 

waiver for agency payments to 

individuals because there are limited 

situations in which it might still make 

sense for an agency to make a nonregular, non-recurring payment to an 

individual by paper check. In addition, 

we are amending the final rule to 

specify that for the purposes of the 

waiver under paragraph (a)(7), ‘‘small 

business concern’’ has the meaning 

given the term in section 3 of the Small 

Business Act and its implementing 

regulations. 

During Treasury’s ongoing 

interactions with agencies regarding our 

efforts to increase electronic payments, 

we have become aware that some 

agencies are relying on the non-regular, 

non-recurring payment waiver 

(currently at § 208.4(a)(6)) to make the 

first in a series of recurring benefit 

payments to a recipient by paper check. 

Part 208 does not, as currently written, 

provide agencies with a waiver for the 

initial payment in a series of recurring 

payments. We understand, however, 

that certain benefit-paying agencies 

have encountered process and systemsrelated impediments that make it 

difficult for them to make the initial 

payment in a series of recurring benefit 

payments by EFT. 

We are not adding a permanent 

waiver for this category of initial, 

recurring payments, but pursuant to 

§ 208.10, Treasury reserves the right to 

waive any provision of part 208 in any 

case or class of cases. In response to the 

informal feedback we have received 

from benefit-paying agencies regarding 

systems impediments to making the 

initial payment in a series of recurring 

payments by EFT, and using the 

discretion provided in § 208.10, we are 

waiving the EFT mandate for agencies 

making initial payments in a series of 

recurring payments for two years from 

the date of publication of this Final 

Rule. This will permit affected agencies 

to make initial payments by paper check 

while giving agencies the time they 

need to make any required system or 

process changes that will allow them to 

fully comply with the part 208 EFT 

mandate. 

We are amending the existing waiver 

under paragraph (a)(7) (renumbered as 

paragraph (a)(8) under the Final Rule), 

which applies to payments where: (1) an 

agency’s need for goods and services is 

urgent or where there is only one source 

for goods or services and (2) the 

government would be significantly 

impacted unless payment is made by 

means other than EFT. We are retaining 

this waiver but now will require an 

agency to file a waiver request with 

Treasury to invoke it. The subject matter 

of this waiver is extremely fact specific, 

so we believe that it is appropriate for 

Treasury to consider waiver requests 

under revised paragraph (a)(8) on a caseby-case basis. Filing the waiver request 

is sufficient to utilize the waiver 

pending Treasury’s decision on the 

request, but if Treasury ultimately 

rejects the request, the waiver will not 

be available for payments made after the 

decision date. 

We are amending paragraph (b), 

which describes the waiver request 

process, so that it applies to requests for 

waivers from agencies as well as 

individuals. Agencies do not submit 

waiver requests today, but under the 

Final Rule would do so in some cases, 

as described above. Agencies seeking 

waivers can find more detailed 

information about how to file a waiver 

request in the Treasury Financial 

Manual, Volume I, Part 4A, Chapter 

2000, Section 2040.30c, which is 

available at https://tfm.fiscal.treasury.

gov/v1/p4/ac200/. Agencies will be 

entitled to make payment by paper 

check during the pendency of the 

waiver request process so that no 

payments are delayed by the new 

waiver request requirement. Individuals 

seeking waivers can find more detailed 

information about how to file a waiver 

request with Treasury at GoDirect.gov. 

Treasury reserves the right to reject any 

waiver request it receives. 

We are adding a new paragraph (c) 

that provides Treasury the ability to 

nullify an agency’s waiver if Treasury 

determines that the application of the 

waiver would lead to the agency 

initiating an unusually large number or 

proportion of payments by means other 

than EFT. If Treasury nullifies a waiver 

for a class of cases in accordance with 

this new paragraph (c), Treasury will 

require the agency in question to work 

with Treasury to identify and 

implement ways to make the payments 

by EFT. Among other things, this may 

include requiring an agency to work 

with Treasury to identify information to 

make payments by EFT by using data 

that Treasury maintains on previous 

payments to the same payment 

recipient. 

The remaining provisions in § 208.4 

are unchanged. 

Sections 208.5 and 208.6 

We are not amending these 

provisions. 

Section 208.7 

We are amending § 208.7 to add a 

requirement that an agency provide to 

Treasury, upon request from Treasury, 

the employer identification numbers 

(EINs) assigned to the agency that the 

agency has used when making or 

receiving Federal intragovernmental 

payments during the 12 months 

preceding the request as well as the 

EINs for all Federal agencies to whom 

the agency has made a Federal 

intragovernmental payment during the 

preceding 12 months. This agency EIN 

data will enable Treasury to identify 

Federal intragovernmental check 

payments that should be converted to 

EFT. We are adding this requirement as 

subparagraph (b) and designating the 

existing language in 208.7 as 

subparagraph (a). 

Section 208.8 

We are not amending § 208.8. 

Section 208.9 

We are amending § 208.9(b) to clarify 

that when an agency fails to make a 

payment by EFT as prescribed by this 

part 208 and no waiver under § 208.4 is 

applicable, Treasury will consider the 

payment to be untimely under 31 U.S.C. 

3335, as EFT payments are processed, 

disbursed, and settled more quickly 

than checks. When an agency makes a 

paper check payment that falls into one 

of the waiver categories in § 208.4, 

Treasury will consider that payment to 

be a timely payment under 31 U.S.C. 

3335 as an exceptional circumstance. 

The Final Rule retains the existing 

language in § 208.9(b) specifying that, 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
12960 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 21, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3335, Treasury 

may assess a charge to an agency that 

fails to make a payment by EFT as 

prescribed by part 208. Treasury 

reserves the right to assess a charge to 

any agency that fails to make a payment 

by EFT after Treasury has rejected the 

agency’s waiver request for that 

payment. 

Sections 208.10 and 208.11. 

We are not amending these 

provisions. 

V. Procedural Analysis 

Regulatory Planning and Review 

The Final Rule does not meet the 

criteria for a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ as defined in Executive Order 

12866, as amended. Therefore, the 

regulatory review procedures contained 

therein do not apply. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis 

It is hereby certified that the Final 

Rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The rule 

provisions being amended primarily 

apply to Federal agencies and 

individuals who receive Federal 

payments, and do not have any direct 

impact on small entities. 

Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995 

Section 202 of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 

1532 (Unfunded Mandates Act), 

requires that the agency prepare a 

budgetary impact statement before 

promulgating any rule likely to result in 

a Federal mandate that may result in the 

expenditure by state, local, and tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of $100 million or more 

in any one year. If a budgetary impact 

statement is required, section 205 of the 

Unfunded Mandates Act also requires 

the agency to identify and consider a 

reasonable number of regulatory 

alternatives before promulgating the 

rule. We have determined that the Final 

Rule will not result in expenditures by 

State, local, and tribal governments, in 

the aggregate, or by the private sector, of 

$100 million or more in any one year. 

Accordingly, we have not prepared a 

budgetary impact statement or 

specifically addressed any regulatory 

alternatives. 

List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 208 

Banks, banking, Debit cards, 

Disbursements, Electronic funds 

transfers, Federal payments, Treasurysponsored accounts. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, we are amending 31 CFR part 

208 as follows: 

PART 208—MANAGEMENT OF 

FEDERAL AGENCY DISBURSEMENTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 208 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 12 U.S.C. 90, 265, 

266, 1767, 1789a; 31 U.S.C. 321, 3122, 3301, 

3302, 3303, 3321, 3325, 3327, 3328, 3332, 

3335, 3336, 6503. 

■ 2. Amend § 208.4 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraph (a)(1)(ii); 

■ b. Redesignating paragraphs (a)(3) 

through (a)(7) as paragraphs (a)(4) 

through (a)(8) and adding a new 

paragraph (a)(3); 

■ c. Deleting the semicolon at the end of 

the second sentence of newly 

redesignated paragraph (a)(4) and 

replacing it with a period; 

■ d. Revising paragraphs (a)(4), (a)(7), 

and (a)(8); 

■ e. Revising paragraph (b); and 

■ f. Adding a new paragraph (c). 

The revisions and additions read as 

follows: 

§ 208.4 Waivers. 

(a) * * * 

(ii) Receives a type of payment for 

which Treasury does not offer delivery 

to a Treasury-sponsored account. In 

such cases, those payments are not 

required to be made by electronic funds 

transfer, unless and until such payments 

become eligible for deposit to a 

Treasury-sponsored account. However, 

if Treasury provides an agency with an 

option to begin delivering a type of 

Federal benefit payment to a Treasurysponsored account, the agency must file 

a waiver request with Treasury to make 

Federal benefit payments of that type by 

any means other than by electronic 

funds transfer; 

* * * * * 

(3) Where the payment is in a foreign 

currency and Treasury does not support 

electronic payment in that currency. 

(4) Where the payment is to a 

recipient within an area designated by 

the President or an authorized agency 

administrator as a disaster area. This 

waiver is limited to payments made 

within 120 days after the disaster is 

declared. An agency must file a waiver 

request with Treasury (which must be 

approved by Treasury) to extend this 

waiver beyond 120 days after the 

disaster is declared; 

* * * * * 

(7) Where the agency does not expect 

to make multiple payments to the same 

recipient within a one-year period on a 

regular, recurring basis but only if the 

payments are made to an individual or 

a small business concern where ‘‘small 

business concern’’ has the meaning 

given the term in section 3 of the Small 

Business Act at 15 U.S.C. 632 and its 

implementing regulations; and 

(8) * * * An agency must file a 

waiver request with Treasury (which 

must be approved by Treasury) to utilize 

this waiver. 

(b) An individual who requests a 

waiver under paragraphs (a)(1)(iv) and 

(v) or an agency who requests a waiver 

under paragraphs (a)(1)(ii), (a)(4), or 

(a)(8) of this section shall provide, in 

writing, to Treasury a certification 

supporting that request, in such form 

that Treasury may prescribe. The 

individual shall attest to the 

certification before a notary public, or 

otherwise file the certification in such 

form that Treasury may prescribe. 

Treasury reserves the right to reject any 

waiver request it receives. 

(c) If application of an agency’s 

waiver, together with any waiver 

request previously granted under 

paragraphs (a)(1)(ii), (a)(4), or (a)(8), 

would, in Treasury’s determination, 

lead to the agency initiating an 

unusually large number or proportion of 

payments by means other than 

electronic funds transfer, Treasury 

reserves the right to nullify the waiver 

in this class of cases and require the 

agency to work with Treasury to 

identify and implement ways to make 

the payments by electronic funds 

transfer. 

■ 3. Revise § 208.7 to read as follows: 

§ 208.7 Agency responsibilities. 

(a) An agency shall put into place 

procedures that allow recipients to 

provide the information necessary for 

the delivery of payments to the recipient 

by electronic funds transfer to an 

account at the recipient’s financial 

institution or a Treasury-sponsored 

account. 

(b) Upon request from Treasury, an 

agency shall provide Treasury with a 

list of the employer identification 

numbers (EINs) assigned to the agency 

that the agency has used to make or 

receive a Federal intragovernmental 

payment during the 12- month period 

preceding the request from Treasury as 

well as a list of the EINs for all Federal 

agencies to whom the agency has made 

a Federal intragovernmental payment 

during the same 12-month period. 

■ 4. Amend § 208.9 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 208.9 Compliance. 

* * * * * 

(b) If an agency fails to make payment 

by electronic funds transfer as 

prescribed under this part, Treasury will 

consider that payment to be not timely 

pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3335, as electronic 

funds transfer payments are processed, 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 21, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 12961 

disbursed, and settled more quickly 

than checks and, accordingly, Treasury 

may assess a charge to the agency 

pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3335. 

David Lebryk, 

Fiscal Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03204 Filed 2–20–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 700 

[EPA–HQ–OPPT–2020–0493; FRL–7911–05– 

OCSPP] 

RIN 2070–AK64 

Fees for the Administration of the 

Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is finalizing amendments 

to the 2018 final rule that established 

fees for the administration of the Toxic 

Substances Control Act (TSCA). 

Specifically, EPA is finalizing changes 

to the fee amounts and EPA’s total costs 

for administering TSCA; exemptions for 

entities subject to the EPA-initiated risk 

evaluation fees; exemptions for test rule 

fee activities; modifications to the selfidentification and reporting 

requirements of EPA-initiated risk 

evaluation and test rule fees; 

modifications to EPA’s proposed 

methodology for the productionvolume-based fee allocation for EPAinitiated risk evaluation fees in any 

scenario in which a consortium is not 

formed; expanded fee requirements to 

companies required to submit 

information for test orders; 

modifications to the fee payment 

obligations of processors subject to test 

orders and enforceable consent 

agreements (ECA); and extended 

timeframes for certain fee payments and 

notices. 

DATES: This rule is effective on April 22, 

2024. 

ADDRESSES: The docket for this action, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–OPP–2020–0493, is 

available online at https://

www.regulations.gov. Additional 

instructions on visiting the docket, 

along with more information about 

dockets generally, is available at https:// 

www.epa.gov/dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

For technical information contact: 

Marc Edmonds, Existing Chemicals Risk 

Management Division (7404M), Office of 

Pollution Prevention and Toxics, 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 

20460–0001; telephone number: (202) 

566–0758; email address: edmonds.

marc@epa.gov. 

For general information contact: The 

TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 422 

South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 

14620; telephone number: (202) 554– 

1404; email address: TSCA-Hotline@

epa.gov. 

I. Executive Summary 

A. Does this action apply to me? 

You may be affected by this action if 

you manufacture (including import), 

process, or distribute in commerce a 

chemical substance (or any combination 

of such activities) and are required to 

submit information to EPA under TSCA 

sections 4 or 5, or if you manufacture a 

chemical substance that is the subject of 

a risk evaluation under TSCA section 

6(b). The following list of North 

American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS) codes is not intended 

to be exhaustive, but rather provides a 

guide to help readers determine whether 

this document applies to them. 

Potentially affected entities may include 

companies found in major NAICS 

groups: 

• Chemical Manufacturers (NAICS 

code 325). 

• Petroleum and Coal Products 

(NAICS code 324). 

• Chemical, Petroleum and Merchant 

Wholesalers (NAICS code 424). 

If you have any questions regarding 

the applicability of this action, please 

consult the technical person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

B. What is the Agency’s authority for 

taking this action? 

TSCA, 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq., as 

amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg 

Chemical Safety for the 21st Century 

Act of 2016 (Pub. L. 114–182) (Ref. 1), 

provides EPA with authority to establish 

fees to defray, or provide payment for, 

a portion of the costs associated with 

administering TSCA sections 4, 5, and 

6, as amended, as well as the costs of 

collecting, processing, reviewing, and 

providing access to and protecting from 

disclosure as appropriate under TSCA 

section 14 information on chemical 

substances under TSCA. EPA is 

required in TSCA section 26(b)(4)(F) to 

review and, if necessary, adjust the fees 

every three years after consultation with 

parties potentially subject to fees, to 

ensure that funds are sufficient to defray 

part of the cost of administering TSCA. 

EPA is issuing this final rule under 

TSCA section 26(b), 15 U.S.C. 2625(b). 

C. What action is the Agency taking? 

After establishing fees under TSCA 

section 26(b), TSCA requires EPA to 

review and, if necessary, adjust the fees 

every three years, after consultation 

with parties potentially subject to fees. 

This document describes the final 

changes to 40 CFR part 700, subpart C 

as promulgated in the final rule entitled 

‘‘Fees for the Administration of the 

Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)’’ 

(2018 Fee Rule) (83 FR 52694) (Ref. 2) 

and explains the methodology by which 

these changes to TSCA fees were 

determined. 

D. Why is the Agency taking this action? 

The fees collected under TSCA are 

intended to achieve the goals articulated 

by Congress by providing a sustainable 

source of funds for EPA to fulfill its 

legal obligations under TSCA sections 4, 

5, and 6 and with respect to information 

management under TSCA section 14. 

Information management includes 

‘‘collecting, processing, reviewing, and 

providing access to and protecting from 

disclosure as appropriate under [section 

14] information on chemical substances 

under [TSCA]’’ (15 U.S.C. 2625(b)(1)). In 

2021, EPA proposed changes to the 

TSCA fee requirements established in 

the 2018 Fee Rule (2021 Proposal) (Ref. 

3) based upon TSCA implementation 

experience. In the 2021 Proposal, EPA 

proposed to adjust the fee amounts 

based on changes to program costs and 

inflation and to address certain issues 

related to implementation of the fee 

requirements (Ref. 3). EPA consulted 

and met with stakeholders that were 

potentially subject to fees, including 

several meetings with individual 

stakeholders and public webinars in 

February 2021 and December 2022. 

Additional information on the 

stakeholder engagement can be found in 

the 2021 Proposal, Unit III.A.1. (Ref. 3) 

and in Unit II.B. of this final rule. 

This final rule takes into 

consideration comments received in 

response to the 2021 Proposal and a 

2022 Supplemental Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking (2022 Supplemental Notice) 

(87 FR 68647) (Ref. 4). A summary of 

those comments and the responses can 

be found in the Response to Comments 

(RtC) document for this rulemaking (Ref. 

5). Based on the comments received, 

EPA experience implementing TSCA, 

adjustments to EPA’s cost estimates, and 

experience implementing the 2018 Fee 

Rule, EPA is issuing this final rule to 

amend the 2018 Fee Rule. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES